


"Until The Very End, M'Lady."

by addove



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fox Miraculous, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Reveal, LadyNoir - Freeform, Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-04-14
Packaged: 2019-04-21 07:52:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14280399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/addove/pseuds/addove
Summary: His thoughts were varied at that moment. There was too much to take in. The Fox Miraculous was stolen. Alya was Rena Rouge (which made sense, Alya knew a little too much about what happened after all). Ladybug was Marinette.Ladybug was Marinette.Okay, maybe he wasn't thinking of anything else.





	"Until The Very End, M'Lady."

**Author's Note:**

> I've been writing for this fandom for a long while but this is one of the first times I've actually been proud of how it turned out and ready to share it. I've shared this story before (I recently remembered it and decided to fix it up) but here it is again, new and improved.

"Until the Very End, M'Lady."

**x**

Adrien wasn't quite sure what happened today. Usually, he paid attention and understood everything perfectly, but today was just confusing in its entirety. School had been interrupted by an akuma attack and they went into lockdown immediately. Thankfully it was during class changing and he was able to run into a bathroom and transform, but the catch? Ladybug wasn't there. She hadn't been for a long, long time. It was so hard for Adrien to fight the akuma (Mirage), who was probably one of the strongest akuma's he's ever fought, alone for half the fight. Not only did he have to detransform to make sure Plagg got his energy up due to him using his power, he had to avoid the fact that she could basically freeze kinetic movements (which didn't obey the laws of physics at all, but technically, the miraculous was magic, so there wasn't a valid argument there).  

When Ladybug had arrived, Adrien immediately noticed her distress. The way her movements were messy, all over the place, instead of the usual coordinated and graceful style she always held up. He had noticed the red in her eyes and how pale her skin looked. If he was able, Adrien would have checked to see if she had a fever, but between the gloves and his entire costume in general, there was no way that was happening. A stern talking to might not be the best in this situation, anyway. 

Adrien watched the white butterfly fly away, shoulders slumping when he saw the way Ladybug fell. She sunk to her knees, wrapping her arms around herself. She took a deep breath, and Adrien could hear the way she was shaking. 

There was a flash of lightning, and the loud roar of thunder seconds soon after. He felt raindrops fall on to his head, soaking into his hair. Ladybug didn't even move to find shelter, she just sat in the rain. Adrien took a few steps forward and kneeled down next to her, slowly putting a hand on her shoulder. She didn't move. 

"What's wrong?" He whispered. He didn't get an answer right away. 

Ladybug shook her head, a whisper filling the silence between them. "They took it, Chat. It's all my fault."

The sound of her voice, so fragile and weak, broke Adrien's heart. It was so small compared to how confident she always was. It stopped his thoughts, but it didn't stop him from making sure she was okay. Ladybug was his best friend, he couldn't just sit here. 

"Took what?"

"They took the Fox Miraculous. I couldn't- she called me, and I didn't- I couldn't- _I_ _can't_ -" Ladybug covered her mouth, eyes glazing over with tears. Adrien lowered his eyes, trying not to stay in his thoughts.

Of course, they took it. The akuma was a distraction. Whoever was working with Hawkmoth got to Rena. That's why Ladybug was late. Of course.

Adrien shut his eyes for a moment and opened them back up again.

"You can't what?"

"This. I could have stopped this- if I just answered her calls-" Ladybug stopped, hands falling. She looked at them as if she had done something horrible. "This is all my fault."

The whisper was quiet, broken, and it pained Adrien to even hear it. He wasn't going through whatever emotional state Ladybug was in, not at all, but he knew what it was like. He knew exactly what words to say, what to do because they were the things nobody ever did for him. If he himself couldn't get help or comfort in his times of need, then he'll do anything to make sure anyone has someone to go to. 

He knew what he had to say, but only a single word, a fragment of what he needed to say, came out. "M'Lady?"

"People are hurt because of me, Chat! I- I am such a _horrible_ friend, I couldn't- I couldn't even answer a _single call_ and I put Alya through this and _she doesn't need that in her mind_ and I can't-" a sob interrupted her train of thought, and Adrien was only a little happy he didn't have to interrupt her. 

The fact that Ladybug-selfless, caring, confident Ladybug-was crying and blaming herself for a situation she couldn't control wasn't right. Adrien knew what this would do because he's blamed himself for things he couldn't control before. It gets in your mind and glues itself to every thought, what if this and what if that. It stays there and doesn't leave. Adrien knew this because he blamed himself for his mother's-

Adrien shook his head and gaze Ladybug a small smile. "It's not your fault. Hawkmoth is the one-"

"Yes, it _is_ my fault! She's my best friend and I-" Ladybug gasped and covered her mouth. She looked at her hands again, and the gears in his head started to turn. 

Best friend? Calls? Adrien knew Alya, they were friends. It didn't make sense. Alya's best friend was-

"Marinette?" 

As soon as he said her name, Adrien knew it was a mistake. He hadn't meant to scare her. But that's exactly what he did, Adrien noticed, as  ~~Marinette~~ Ladybug stood up and backed away from him. The fear in her wide eyes was overpowering the sadness, he saw that. God, he was such an idiot for even thinking about it!

"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't... I shouldn't have- I'm sorry, Chat. This was a mistake." Ladybug whispered, backing away. She didn't make any immediate movements to run, but Adrien knew she was going to. Before she could, Adrien rushed forward and grabbed her wrist gently. 

"Wait! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, um, you know." He cringed at his own words, unable to really say anything else. 

To be completely honest, Adrien was expecting her to pull away and run. He expected her to be mad. He expected her to be anything but still. 

Adrien watched her in silence. Her hair was probably as messy as his hair was from the rain, but her skin was like paper against the dark grey clouds in the sky. With her eyes looking down at the floor, and the same sad look on her face, he really just wanted to give her a hug. 

To be completely honest, he wasn't expecting her to speak, either. Certainly not along the lines of-

"I'm scared, Chat."

It's as if time froze completely. His heart seemed to stop beating. Adrien held in a breath, wishing he could stop the shock from showing on his face. He knew it did though because Ladybug sunk to her knees again and started shaking, hands covering her face. 

Adrien, never in a million lifetimes, thought he would see Ladybug- _Marinette_ -so broken. He never thought he would see the love of his life so lost, fragile, out of hope. It broke his heart to see her this way. At that moment, it was as if everything was broken. It was as if nothing could be fixed again because _his Ladybug was crying_ and sad and didn't think there was any hope left to fix this. Adrien looked up at the sky, taking a deep breath. The clouds grew darker with every moment that passed. It would surely start to rain harder soon. 

"It's okay, you know. To be scared." Adrien said, sitting down in next to her. She leaned against his shoulder, arms wrapping around herself again. Adrien put an arm around her shoulder, resting his hand in her hair. 

There was a minute of silence. He felt that maybe she was calming down. Maybe they were going to be fine now. 

"What if we're next?" Ladybug whispered. "I can't lose my partner. Paris can't lose Ladybug. Who'll cure the akumas? What'll happen to the city if-"

"That's not gonna happen," Adrien said quickly. He saw Ladybug look up at him, but she didn't move. 

"You know why? 'Cause I'm here, right? I'll protect you."

Another weak whisper. "How?"

Adrien shrugged, looking down at her. He smiled, lifting his head to watch the clouds move by. He was wrong, the rain wasn't going to get harder. It only lightened up into a drizzle with the clouds moving to show little spots of the blue sky. The sun peaked at them from behind the clouds, warm on his skin. 

"I always keep you safe, don't I?" His smile fell, but not into a frown. "Besides, have I ever lied to you, Bugaboo?"

Ladybug nudged her elbow into his chest slightly, and Adrien mumbled _'ow,'_ just to see her smile. And she did, no matter how small it was. It was a good step. A step forward. 

After a few moments of sitting on the rooftop, with the sun finally coming out from behind the clouds, Adrien heard Ladybug speak again. 

"Are you going to stay?" She whispered, lifting her head up from his shoulder to face him. Adrien only smiled, watching her tuck a strand of hair behind her ears.

"Until the very end, M'Lady."

**x**

Fin

 

**Author's Note:**

> Anyways, you'll find I'm so much better at writing from Marinette and Adrien's point of view than literally any other character in existence. These also have considerably less angsty prompts than my other fics, but that's fine.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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